William watt price



No. 752,708. PATENTED FEB. 23,1904.-

w. w. PRICE.

(IRATE FOR BOTTLES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1903. H0 MODEL.

WiC/LeSS e s UNITED STATES Patented February 23, 1904.

PATE T OFFICE.

CRATE FOR BOTTLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,708,dated February 23, 1904, Application filed May 11, 1903. .Serial No. 156,599. (No model.)

To a w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WATT PRIoE, of the city of Poughkeepsie, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crates for Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to devise a crate in which bottles can be collected,washed, and sterilized, filled, and sent out again for use without other separate handling than that needed in the original collection; and it consists, essentially, of a crate provided with compartments for two rows of bottles and a re? movable holder detachably connected with each end of the crate and adapted to engage the shoulders of the two rows of bottles to retain the latter in place when the crate is inverted, substantially as hereinafter more specifically described, and then definitely claimed.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of my improved crate. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of the spring-catch of the holder.

In the drawings like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the diflerent figures.

The body A of the crate is preferably formed of sheet metal suitably strengthened with corner and edge pieces, as shown. It is preferably divided by metal partitions B into a number of compartments, each capable of containing two bottles side by side. As shown, I prefer to so proportion the crate as to contain a. dozen bottles in two rows side by side. The sides of the crate, as shown best in Figs. 1 and 3, have each a bead or rib C formed therein at a height suitable to engage the sides of the bottles just below the shoulders of the same. The width of the crate is preferably proportioned so that two bottles in each compartment touch oneanother and at the-same time engage these beads. The bottom of the crate may be comparatively open, as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2.

In order that the crate may be inverted without the bottles falling out, I provide a holder D. preferably formed of two parallel wires E,

connected at suitable intervals by cross connectlons F. One of these cross connections 1s quite close to one end of the holder, so that it leaves the ends of the wires projecting as two short pins G. The other end of the holder has a spring-catch H secured thereto. This catch is preferably formed of a single piece of wire, with its ends wound around the wire of the holder and looped over it, as shown at b, so that the catch may give a spring resistance when pulled inwardly. Two holes are formed in one end of the crate to receive the pins G. These pins, as shown in Fig. 1, are preferably bent upwardly, so as to give them a better engagement with the end of the crate. The end of the spring-catch is sprung under the angle-bar I, 'which thus forms a keeper for the catch. The parts are so shaped and proportioned that the parallel wires of the holder engage the shoulders of the two rows of bottles, as indicated particularly in Figs. 1 and 3. As the bottles are in contact with one another, with the ribs C, and with the wires of the holder E, they are securely held in position, so that the crate may be reversed without the bottles falling out. The holder being formed, as it were, with spring sides, the bottles are not liable to become broken. There is in addition the upward spring which the holder naturally possesses to aid in giving the elastic pressure on the bottles desired. If it be desired to remove the bottles, the loop 0 of the spring-catch may be drawn upon to release the catch from the keeperI, when the pins Gr may be withdrawn from the holes in the other end of the crate and the holder removed.

The advantages of such a'crate as mine to large milk dealers are obvious; The crate may be-sent out full of bottles of milk and returned to the dairy full of empties. A holder may then be inserted and the crate full of bottles sent to the washing and sterilizing machine, where the crate is turned upside down and the bottles thoroughly washed and sterilized by hot water and steam. The crate full of bottles may then be turned right way up and sent to the filling-room. After filling and cooling the holder may be removed and the crate full of bottles of fresh milk again sent out on its rounds.

7 It will be seen that by use of a crate provided with a holder such as mine a great deal of handling of individual bottles is saved.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A crate adapted to contain two rows of bottles, in combination with a holder comprising two parallel spring-wires rigidly connected together near each end and adapted to fit between the bottles and engage the shoulders thereof, the ends of the wires being detachably connected to the ends of the crates, substantially as described.

2. A crate adapted to contain two rows of bottles, in combination with a holder comprising a bar formed of stout parallel wires provided with suitable cross connections, an upwardly-extending spring-catch formed at one end and having a loop serving as a handle, and a cross connection near the other end forming two projecting pins of the ends of the wire, the crate being provided at one end with two holes to receive the said pins and at the 3. A crate adapted to contain two rows of bottles and having a bead or flange formed at each side to engage the sides of the bottles near their shoulders, in combination with a holder comprising a bar formed of stout parallel wires provided with suitable cross connections, an upwardly-extending spring-catch formed at one end and having a loop serving as a handle, and a cross connection near the other end forming two projecting pins of the ends of the Wire, the crate being provided at one end with two holes to receive the said pins and at the other with a keeper for the said catch, substantially as described.

Poughkeepsie, New York, May 4, 1903.

WILLIAM WATT PRICE. In presence of CHAs. F.'COSSUM, SARAH O. DARROW. 

